Miami judge rules in ‘stand your ground’ case

MIAMI (AP) – A judge has dismissed a murder charge against a man who chased and fatally stabbed a suspected thief, citing the same self-defense law at the center of the Trayvon Martin case.

The “stand your ground” law gives a lot of leeway to use deadly force instead of retreating during a confrontation.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beth Bloom ruled Tuesday that a bag of stolen car radios Pedro Roteta swung at Greyston Garcia amounted to a lethal threat. Bloom said Garcia “was well within his rights to pursue the victim and demand the return of his property.”

Garcia went home instead of calling 911 after the confrontation in January and later hid the knife and sold two of the radios.